10 July 2017

HAMBURG, Germany -- Japan, the United States and South Korea on July 6 agreed to step up pressure on North Korea during trilateral talks on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G-20) summit here.

The move by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in to adopt a stronger united stance against Pyongyang was prompted by North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 4. Yet they differ on their strategies for containing the secluded state, which has continued to provocatively launch missiles and develop nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Germany, the chair of the G-20 summit, does not want to get deeply involved in the North Korean issue out of consideration for Russia and China, which are critical of intensifying pressure on the North.

In the trilateral talks on July 6 local time, Prime Minister Abe underscored the need to intensify international pressure on North Korea rather than seeking dialogue with Pyongyang. He said the North's latest missile launch "demonstrated that the country has no intention of holding serious dialogue," and added, "The international community needs to increase its pressure."

"There's absolutely no point in holding 'dialogue for the dialogue's sake.' Right now it's indispensable to put pressure on North Korea to force the country to hold serious talks," Abe said.

Abe, Trump and Moon issued a joint statement on July 7, condemning North Korea's launch of an ICBM, saying it was a violation of a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolution and urging the UNSC to adopt a motion at an early date calling for additional sanctions on Pyongyang.